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The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement.

[edit] Geography

Location 

Middle East, west of Jordan

Geographic coordinates 

32 00 N, 35 15 E

Map references 

Middle East

Area 

total: 5,860 sq km
note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
water: 220 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km

Area - comparative 

slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries 

total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km

Coastline 

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims 

none (landlocked)

Climate 

temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters

Terrain 

mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east

Elevation extremes 

lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m

Natural resources 

arable land

Land use 

arable land: NEGL%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 

NA sq km

Natural hazards 

droughts

Environment - current issues 

adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment

Geography - note 

landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.)

[edit] People

Population 

2,163,667 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.)

Age structure 

0-14 years: 44.4% (male 492,446; female 468,321)
15-64 years: 52% (male 575,282; female 550,793)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 33,163; female 43,662) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 

3.39% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

34.94 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

4.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 

3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio 

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

21.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 72.47 years
female: 74.29 years (2002 est.)
male: 70.76 years

Total fertility rate 

4.77 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 

NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS 

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths 

NA

Nationality 

noun: NA
adjective: NA

Ethnic groups 

Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%

Religions 

Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%

Languages 

Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Literacy 

definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

[edit] Government

Country name 

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank

[edit] Economy

Economy - overview 

Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next five years decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, internal turmoil and Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in Israel.

GDP 

purchasing power parity - $2.1 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 

-35% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita 

purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector 

agriculture: 9%
industry: 28%
services: 63%
note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line 

50% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share 

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 

1% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)

Labor force 

NA

Labor force - by occupation 

services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)

Unemployment rate 

26% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)

Budget 

revenues: $930 million
note: includes Gaza Strip (2000 est.)
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 million

Industries 

generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers

Industrial production growth rate 

NA%

Electricity - production 

NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants

Electricity - production by source 

fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA%
nuclear: NA%
other: NA%

Electricity - consumption 

NA kWh

Electricity - imports 

NA kWh

Agriculture - products 

olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Exports 

$603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip (2001 est.)

Exports - commodities 

olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone

Exports - partners 

Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip

Imports 

$1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip (2001 est.)

Imports - commodities 

food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners 

Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip

Debt - external 

$108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)

Economic aid - recipient 

$800 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)

Currency 

new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Currency code 

ILS; JOD

Exchange rates 

new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.2757 (December 2001), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996)

Fiscal year 

calendar year (since 1 January 1992)

[edit] Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular 

NA

Telephone system 

general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: NA
note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank

Radio broadcast stations 

AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000)

Radios 

NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)

Television broadcast stations 

NA

Televisions 

NA; note - many Palestinian households have televisions (1999)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

8 (1999)

Internet users 

60,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2001)

[edit] Transportation

Railways 

0 km

Highways 

total: 4,500 km
paved: 2,700 km
unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.)
note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements

Waterways 

none

Ports and harbors 

none

Airports 

3 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002)

[edit] Military

Military expenditures - dollar figure 

$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP 

NA%

[edit] Transnational Issues

Disputes - international 

West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation